The films are an adapation of a popular novel named "Journey to the West". Steven Chow plays a theif named Joker whose relative peace is shattered when two mysterious women (Yammie Nam and Karen Mok) show up at his hideout. It turns out that Joker is the reincarnation of a creature known as the Monkey King. The King's mentor, Invincible Monk (Law Kar-Ying) is coming to find Joker so he can once again become the Monkey King, and a motley crew soon shows up to try and take the Invincible Monk, who can grant whoever eats his flesh immortality.

That plot synopsis really only covers the first part of the first movie. As you might expect for a film that runs for over three hours, A Chinese Odyssey has a very complicated plot, even moreso than your average wuxia movie. When you factor in Stephen Chow's "nonsense comedy", things get a bit weird to say the least. There were a few times where I was scratching my head, wondering what the hell was exactly going on, especially during bits like the part where Invincible Monk starts singing golden oldies. But Stephen Chow's charisma and humor keep things going, and Ching Siu-Tung's action sequences are exciting enough that the viewer can forgive some of the shortcomings presented by the story itself.

Overall, though, A Chinese Odyssey didn't fully click for me. Perhaps it was due to the low budget (there are only four or five sets used in both movies -- it just lacks that "epic" feel a film like this should have), sometimes haphazard and uneven story development (the movie sometimes tries too hard to interject "real" drama into the proceedings) or a plot that is a bit confusing in places, made worse by the badly-translated subtitled present on the DVDs. Despite these problems, A Chinese Odyssey is still a pretty fun film that's worth a look if you're into Stephen Chow's body of work.

Joker (Chow Sing Chi) is the leader of a band of robbers who live in a mountain where the godly reunion is rumoured to take place. When a pair of evil sisters arrive, looking for the Monkey King, Joker falls for one of them and pretends to be the reincarnation of the Monkey to win her heart.

The mighty King Bull appears seeking revenge on the Monkey King so attempts to kill Joker. When the sisters intervene one of them is killed and Joker's only hope to save her is to obtain Pandora's Box, a sacred item which allows the user to travel back into time. Can Joker save everyone in time and find true love?

Based on the 16th century novel by Wu Cheng entitled "Journey to the West", "A Chinese Odyssey : Pandora's Box" is an excellent period comedy piece. The visuals are stunning and the film is littered with running gags and spoofs that are a joy to watch. Chow puts in one of his best performances playing two real alter egos as the clumsy and arrogant Joker as well as the sly yet heartless Monkey King. In this film in particular, it is easy to see why he is compared to Jim Carrey in the west as he displays similar comedic movements and facial expressions.

Unfortunately you cannot watch the first part without seeing the second as it ends so abruptly that you have no choice so make sure you buy both before viewing them. Still, it's definitely a superb film containing excellent acting, furious fantasy battles and some side splitting comedy.

Stephen Chow was amazing. The story was compelling. This movie captured the essence of Hong Kong cinema. Those are just a few of the good points I can remember. Not without its flaws however. The action sequences could have been better in some areas. Overuse of cheap special effects (I understand and I don't blame them...It was necessary budget-wise and for humor.) Some of the smaller parts were very quirky and were played by annoying actors (Luckily, Stephen Chow is able to take control of every scene.)

Overall this movie is definitely a must-see (I wouldn't write so much if it wasn't worth it.) The first half of the movie was just a great foreplay that leads up to a great climax and eventually sets up for the sequel: "Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella", which is another great movie that you have to see. These two movies should have been released as one movie.